Instead of Pixels, Crayola's New Kids' Tablet Is Filled With Sand

If you’ve ever scribbled your name in the sand on the beach with a stick, you’ll understand where Crayola found the inspiration for its new drawing tablet for kids. The biggest advantage of the Sand Scribbler, though, is that there’s no risk of a drawing or doodle being erased by the incoming tide.

To prevent sand from ending up everywhere as it usually does after a trip to the beach, the contents of the Sand Scribbler are sealed behind a clear plastic screen. That means that kids unfortunately can’t use their finger to doodle like they would on a touchscreen. Instead, the Sand Scribbler has a chunky tethered stylus with a strong magnet on the end.

That magnet connects to a drawing tool trapped inside the tablet along with all the sand. So as kid scribbles across its plastic surface, the drawing tool traces patterns and designs in the sand. And to erase it, like with Etch A Sketch, all that’s needed is a quick shake.

Adding to the experience are a set of colour-changing LEDs inside the Sand Scribbler that help accentuate a drawing by creating more shadows and adding a splash of colour. But they also allow the $20 toy to still be enjoyed in the dark, like if kids were doodling away on a long late-night drive.